Better Not Burn Your Toast

The Science of Food and Health

By: Dr. Joe Schwarcz

Narrated by: Joel Richards

If you have an appetite for digestible science, you will find plenty of tasty morsels here.

Discover why some people see red over red food dyes, why Sherlock Holmes was interested in jellyfish, why King George III was plagued with purple urine, and why phrenology is a pseudoscience. You will learn about the links between the Pope, Lionel Messi, and yerba mate, Harry Potter and the mandrake root, and how Bicycle Day came to commemorate the first use of LSD. Have you ever wondered whether negative ions have positive effects, if memory supplements work, if performance-enhancing supplements really enhance performance, or if taurine in Red Bull is a lot of bull? Look no further. Are you confused about ultra-processed foods, free radicals, calcium propionate in your daily bread, endocrine disruptors, preservatives, rejuvenation, aspartame, Ozempic, Oxycontin, or whether you can eat to beat disease? You've come to the right place.

You will also find out why Woody Allen's "orgasmatron" in Sleeper was a parody of an actual device created by Wilhelm Reich, how time-restricted eating works, why kimchi traveled to outer space, and where not to stick a magnesium rod. Then, of course, you will also discover why you should not burn your toast!

©2025 Dr. Joe Schwarcz (P)2025 Tantor Media

Makes Biochemistry easy to understand

Overall, this was an interesting book. The author breaks down a lot of the biochemistry behind food and nutrition in a way that is accessible. Some sections in the book were more interesting than others, but I would definitely recommend to anyone who is interested in nutrition or works in the nutrition industry. The only part I would contest would be the part about dietary supplements because it is true that they are not regulated like drugs, there are some manufacturers that are more reputable than others. Sites like consumerlab.com are a great resource because it verifies the accuracy of these products and you can see which company scores well for purity and potency.